He didn’t have a light on his bike. And he had meth in his pants, cops say

Just before 6 a.m. on July 3, Willie Morgan, 33, was riding his bicycle in the area of Steak N’ Shake on 44th Avenue West when he was pulled over for not having lights on his bike, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy was responding to the restaurant on a trespass call. Upon arriving, the deputy observed Morgan leaving the parking lot and initiated a bicycle violation stop, but Morgan didn’t stop right away, deputies say.

According to the arrest report, Morgan kept riding the bicycle “for some time,” before finally stopping. Deputies say he then began, “flailing his hands in an aggressive manner, acting erratically,” and asking why he had been stopped.

The deputy reports he noticed a “large bulge” in Morgan’s right front pocket.

The report states that Morgan was ordered to keep his hands in the open so he could be patted down for weapons, but Morgan refused and instead went for the item in his pocket. A brief struggle ensued to get the suspect under control.

Deputies say they located an unused syringe, a scale and a plastic bag containing three smaller baggies of a substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine totaling almost one gram.

According to the report, Morgan made several statements that he found the syringe and methamphetamine, but told deputies the scale was his and he uses it to, “measure his heroin,” which he didn’t have with him.

That led police to test the scale for the presence of heroin, which tested positive.

Morgan was booked into the Manatee County jail for possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest.

This story was originally published July 5, 2019 at 8:08 AM.